TextInput

A foundational component for inputting text into the app via a keyboard. Props provide configurability for several features, such as auto-correction, auto-capitalization, placeholder text, and different keyboard types, such as a numeric keypad.

The most basic use case is to plop down a TextInput and subscribe to the onChangeText events to read the user input. There are also other events, such as onSubmitEditing and onFocus that can be subscribed to. A minimal example:

import React, { Component } from "react";
import { TextInput } from "tbox/ui";
const UselessTextInput = () => {
const [value, onChangeText] = React.useState("Useless Placeholder");
return (
<TextInput
style={{ height: 40, borderColor: "gray", borderWidth: 1 }}
onChangeText={(text) => onChangeText(text)}
value={value}
/>
);
};
export default UselessTextInput;

Two methods exposed via the native element are .focus() and .blur() that will focus or blur the TextInput programmatically.

Note that some props are only available with multiline={true/false}. Additionally, border styles that apply to only one side of the element (e.g., borderBottomColor, borderLeftWidth, etc.) will not be applied if multiline=false. To achieve the same effect, you can wrap your TextInput in a View:

import React, { Component } from "react";
import { View, TextInput } from "tbox/ui";
const UselessTextInput = (props) => {
return (
<TextInput
{...props} // Inherit any props passed to it; e.g., multiline, numberOfLines below
editable
maxLength={40}
/>
);
};
const UselessTextInputMultiline = () => {
const [value, onChangeText] = React.useState("Useless Multiline Placeholder");
// If you type something in the text box that is a color, the background will change to that
// color.
return (
<View
style={{
backgroundColor: value,
borderBottomColor: "#000000",
borderBottomWidth: 1,
}}
>
<UselessTextInput
multiline
numberOfLines={4}
onChangeText={(text) => onChangeText(text)}
value={value}
/>
</View>
);
};
export default UselessTextInputMultiline;

TextInput has by default a border at the bottom of its view. This border has its padding set by the background image provided by the system, and it cannot be changed. Solutions to avoid this is to either not set height explicitly, case in which the system will take care of displaying the border in the correct position, or to not display the border by setting underlineColorAndroid to transparent.

Note that on Android performing text selection in input can change app's activity windowSoftInputMode param to adjustResize. This may cause issues with components that have position: 'absolute' while keyboard is active. To avoid this behavior either specify windowSoftInputMode in AndroidManifest.xml ( https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/manifest/activity-element.html ) or control this param programmatically with native code.


Reference

Props

Inherits View Props.

allowFontScaling

Specifies whether fonts should scale to respect Text Size accessibility settings. The default is true.

TypeRequired
boolNo

autoCapitalize

Tells TextInput to automatically capitalize certain characters. This property is not supported by some keyboard types such as name-phone-pad.

  • characters: all characters.
  • words: first letter of each word.
  • sentences: first letter of each sentence (default).
  • none: don't auto capitalize anything.
TypeRequired
enum('none', 'sentences', 'words', 'characters')No

autoCompleteType

Specifies autocomplete hints for the system, so it can provide autofill. On Android, the system will always attempt to offer autofill by using heuristics to identify the type of content. To disable autocomplete, set autoCompleteType to off.

Possible values for autoCompleteType are:

  • off
  • username
  • password
  • email
  • name
  • tel
  • street-address
  • postal-code
  • cc-number
  • cc-csc
  • cc-exp
  • cc-exp-month
  • cc-exp-year
TypeRequiredPlatform
enum('off', 'username', 'password', 'email', 'name', 'tel', 'street-address', 'postal-code', 'cc-number', 'cc-csc', 'cc-exp', 'cc-exp-month', 'cc-exp-year')NoAndroid

autoCorrect

If false, disables auto-correct. The default value is true.

TypeRequired
boolNo

autoFocus

If true, focuses the input on componentDidMount. The default value is false.

TypeRequired
boolNo

blurOnSubmit

If true, the text field will blur when submitted. The default value is true for single-line fields and false for multiline fields. Note that for multiline fields, setting blurOnSubmit to true means that pressing return will blur the field and trigger the onSubmitEditing event instead of inserting a newline into the field.

TypeRequired
boolNo

caretHidden

If true, caret is hidden. The default value is false.

TypeRequired
boolNo

clearButtonMode

When the clear button should appear on the right side of the text view. This property is supported only for single-line TextInput component. The default value is never.

TypeRequiredPlatform
enum('never', 'while-editing', 'unless-editing', 'always')NoiOS

clearTextOnFocus

If true, clears the text field automatically when editing begins.

TypeRequiredPlatform
boolNoiOS

contextMenuHidden

If true, context menu is hidden. The default value is false.

TypeRequired
boolNo

dataDetectorTypes

Determines the types of data converted to clickable URLs in the text input. Only valid if multiline={true} and editable={false}. By default no data types are detected.

You can provide one type or an array of many types.

Possible values for dataDetectorTypes are:

  • 'phoneNumber'
  • 'link'
  • 'address'
  • 'calendarEvent'
  • 'none'
  • 'all'
TypeRequiredPlatform
enum('phoneNumber', 'link', 'address', 'calendarEvent', 'none', 'all'), ,array of enum('phoneNumber', 'link', 'address', 'calendarEvent', 'none', 'all')NoiOS

defaultValue

Provides an initial value that will change when the user starts typing. Useful for use-cases where you do not want to deal with listening to events and updating the value prop to keep the controlled state in sync.

TypeRequired
stringNo

disableFullscreenUI

When false, if there is a small amount of space available around a text input (e.g. landscape orientation on a phone), the OS may choose to have the user edit the text inside of a full screen text input mode. When true, this feature is disabled and users will always edit the text directly inside of the text input. Defaults to false.

TypeRequiredPlatform
boolNoAndroid

editable

If false, text is not editable. The default value is true.

TypeRequired
boolNo

enablesReturnKeyAutomatically

If true, the keyboard disables the return key when there is no text and automatically enables it when there is text. The default value is false.

TypeRequiredPlatform
boolNoiOS

importantForAutofill

Tells the system whether the individual fields in your app should be included in a view structure for autofill purposes on Android API Level 26+, possible values are auto, no, noExcludeDescendants, yes, yesExcludeDescendants. The default value is auto.

  • auto: Let the Android System use its heuristics to determine if the view is important for autofill.
  • no: This view isn't important for autofill.
  • noExcludeDescendants: This view and its children aren't important for autofill.
  • yes: This view is important for autofill.
  • yesExcludeDescendants: This view is important for autofill, but its children aren't important for autofill.
TypeRequiredPlatform
enum('auto', 'no', 'noExcludeDescendants', 'yes', 'yesExcludeDescendants')NoAndroid

inlineImageLeft

If defined, the provided image resource will be rendered on the left. The image resource must be inside /android/app/src/main/res/drawable and referenced like

<TextInput
inlineImageLeft='search_icon'
/>
TypeRequiredPlatform
stringNoAndroid

inlineImagePadding

Padding between the inline image, if any, and the text input itself.

TypeRequiredPlatform
numberNoAndroid

inputAccessoryViewID

An optional identifier which links a custom InputAccessoryView to this text input. The InputAccessoryView is rendered above the keyboard when this text input is focused.

TypeRequiredPlatform
stringNoiOS

keyboardAppearance

Determines the color of the keyboard.

TypeRequiredPlatform
enum('default', 'light', 'dark')NoiOS

keyboardType

Determines which keyboard to open, e.g.numeric.

See screenshots of all the types here.

The following values work across platforms:

  • default
  • number-pad
  • decimal-pad
  • numeric
  • email-address
  • phone-pad

iOS Only

The following values work on iOS only:

  • ascii-capable
  • numbers-and-punctuation
  • url
  • name-phone-pad
  • twitter
  • web-search

Android Only

The following values work on Android only:

  • visible-password
TypeRequired
enum('default', 'email-address', 'numeric', 'phone-pad', 'ascii-capable', 'numbers-and-punctuation', 'url', 'number-pad', 'name-phone-pad', 'decimal-pad', 'twitter', 'web-search', 'visible-password')No

maxFontSizeMultiplier

Specifies largest possible scale a font can reach when allowFontScaling is enabled. Possible values:

  • null/undefined (default): inherit from the parent node or the global default (0)
  • 0: no max, ignore parent/global default
  • >= 1: sets the maxFontSizeMultiplier of this node to this value
TypeRequired
numberNo

maxLength

Limits the maximum number of characters that can be entered. Use this instead of implementing the logic in JS to avoid flicker.

TypeRequired
numberNo

multiline

If true, the text input can be multiple lines. The default value is false. It is important to note that this aligns the text to the top on iOS, and centers it on Android. Use with textAlignVertical set to top for the same behavior in both platforms.

TypeRequired
boolNo

numberOfLines

Sets the number of lines for a TextInput. Use it with multiline set to true to be able to fill the lines.

TypeRequiredPlatform
numberNoAndroid

onBlur

Callback that is called when the text input is blurred.

TypeRequired
functionNo

onChange

Callback that is called when the text input's text changes. This will be called with { nativeEvent: { eventCount, target, text} }

TypeRequired
functionNo

onChangeText

Callback that is called when the text input's text changes. Changed text is passed as a single string argument to the callback handler.

TypeRequired
functionNo

onContentSizeChange

Callback that is called when the text input's content size changes. This will be called with { nativeEvent: { contentSize: { width, height } } }.

Only called for multiline text inputs.

TypeRequired
functionNo

onEndEditing

Callback that is called when text input ends.

TypeRequired
functionNo

onFocus

Callback that is called when the text input is focused. This is called with { nativeEvent: { target } }.

TypeRequired
functionNo

onKeyPress

Callback that is called when a key is pressed. This will be called with { nativeEvent: { key: keyValue } } where keyValue is 'Enter' or 'Backspace' for respective keys and the typed-in character otherwise including ' ' for space. Fires before onChange callbacks. Note: on Android only the inputs from soft keyboard are handled, not the hardware keyboard inputs.

TypeRequired
functionNo

onLayout

Invoked on mount and layout changes with { nativeEvent: {layout: {x, y, width, height}, target } }.

TypeRequired
functionNo

onScroll

Invoked on content scroll with { nativeEvent: { contentOffset: { x, y } } }. May also contain other properties from ScrollEvent but on Android contentSize is not provided for performance reasons.

TypeRequired
functionNo

onSelectionChange

Callback that is called when the text input selection is changed. This will be called with { nativeEvent: { selection: { start, end } } }. This prop requires multiline={true} to be set.

TypeRequired
functionNo

onSubmitEditing

Callback that is called when the text input's submit button is pressed with the argument {nativeEvent: {text, eventCount, target}}.

TypeRequired
functionNo

Note that on iOS this method isn't called when using keyboardType="phone-pad".


onTextInput

Callback that is called on new text input with the argument { nativeEvent: { text, previousText, range: { start, end } } }. This prop requires multiline={true} to be set.

TypeRequired
functionNo

placeholder

The string that will be rendered before text input has been entered.

TypeRequired
stringNo

placeholderTextColor

The text color of the placeholder string.

TypeRequired
colorNo

returnKeyLabel

Sets the return key to the label. Use it instead of returnKeyType.

TypeRequiredPlatform
stringNoAndroid

returnKeyType

Determines how the return key should look. On Android you can also use returnKeyLabel.

Cross platform

The following values work across platforms:

  • done
  • go
  • next
  • search
  • send

Android Only

The following values work on Android only:

  • none
  • previous

iOS Only

The following values work on iOS only:

  • default
  • emergency-call
  • google
  • join
  • route
  • yahoo
TypeRequired
enum('done', 'go', 'next', 'search', 'send', 'none', 'previous', 'default', 'emergency-call', 'google', 'join', 'route', 'yahoo')No

rejectResponderTermination

iOS Only

If true, allows TextInput to pass touch events to the parent component. This allows components such as SwipeableListView to be swipeable from the TextInput on iOS, as is the case on Android by default. If false, TextInput always asks to handle the input (except when disabled). The default value is true.

TypeRequiredPlatform
boolNoiOS

scrollEnabled

If false, scrolling of the text view will be disabled. The default value is true. Only works with multiline={true}.

TypeRequiredPlatform
boolNoiOS

secureTextEntry

If true, the text input obscures the text entered so that sensitive text like passwords stay secure. The default value is false. Does not work with multiline={true}.

TypeRequired
boolNo

selection

The start and end of the text input's selection. Set start and end to the same value to position the cursor.

TypeRequired
object: {start: number,end: number}No

selectionColor

The highlight and cursor color of the text input.

TypeRequired
colorNo

selectTextOnFocus

If true, all text will automatically be selected on focus.

TypeRequired
boolNo

showSoftInputOnFocus

When false, it will prevent the soft keyboard from showing when the field is focused. The default value is true.

TypeRequiredPlatform
boolNoAndroid

spellCheck

If false, disables spell-check style (i.e. red underlines). The default value is inherited from autoCorrect.

TypeRequiredPlatform
boolNoiOS

textAlign

Align the input text to the left, center, or right sides of the input field.

Possible values for textAlign are:

  • left
  • center
  • right
TypeRequired
enum('left', 'center', 'right')No

textContentType

Give the keyboard and the system information about the expected semantic meaning for the content that users enter.

For iOS 11+ you can set textContentType to username or password to enable autofill of login details from the device keychain.

For iOS 12+ newPassword can be used to indicate a new password input the user may want to save in the keychain, and oneTimeCode can be used to indicate that a field can be autofilled by a code arriving in an SMS.

To disable autofill, set textContentType to none.

Possible values for textContentType are:

  • none
  • URL
  • addressCity
  • addressCityAndState
  • addressState
  • countryName
  • creditCardNumber
  • emailAddress
  • familyName
  • fullStreetAddress
  • givenName
  • jobTitle
  • location
  • middleName
  • name
  • namePrefix
  • nameSuffix
  • nickname
  • organizationName
  • postalCode
  • streetAddressLine1
  • streetAddressLine2
  • sublocality
  • telephoneNumber
  • username
  • password
  • newPassword
  • oneTimeCode
TypeRequiredPlatform
enum('none', 'URL', 'addressCity', 'addressCityAndState', 'addressState', 'countryName', 'creditCardNumber', 'emailAddress', 'familyName', 'fullStreetAddress', 'givenName', 'jobTitle', 'location', 'middleName', 'name', 'namePrefix', 'nameSuffix', 'nickname', 'organizationName', 'postalCode', 'streetAddressLine1', 'streetAddressLine2', 'sublocality', 'telephoneNumber', 'username', 'password')NoiOS

passwordRules

When using textContentType as newPassword on iOS we can let the OS know the minimum requirements of the password so that it can generate one that will satisfy them. In order to create a valid string for PasswordRules take a look to the Apple Docs.

TypeRequiredPlatform
stringNoiOS

style

Note that not all Text styles are supported, an incomplete list of what is not supported includes:

  • borderLeftWidth
  • borderTopWidth
  • borderRightWidth
  • borderBottomWidth
  • borderTopLeftRadius
  • borderTopRightRadius
  • borderBottomRightRadius
  • borderBottomLeftRadius

see Issue#7070 for more detail.

Styles

TypeRequired
TextNo

textBreakStrategy

Set text break strategy on Android API Level 23+, possible values are simple, highQuality, balanced The default value is simple.

TypeRequiredPlatform
enum('simple', 'highQuality', 'balanced')NoAndroid

underlineColorAndroid

The color of the TextInput underline.

TypeRequiredPlatform
colorNoAndroid

value

The value to show for the text input. TextInput is a controlled component, which means the native value will be forced to match this value prop if provided. For most uses, this works great, but in some cases this may cause flickering - one common cause is preventing edits by keeping value the same. In addition to setting the same value, either set editable={false}, or set/update maxLength to prevent unwanted edits without flicker.

TypeRequired
stringNo

Methods

.focus()

focus();

Makes the native input request focus.

.blur()

blur();

Makes the native input lose focus.

clear()

clear();

Removes all text from the TextInput.


isFocused()

isFocused();

Returns true if the input is currently focused; false otherwise.

Known issues

  • react-native#19096: Doesn't support Android's onKeyPreIme.
  • react-native#19366: Calling .focus() after closing Android's keyboard via back button doesn't bring keyboard up again.
  • react-native#26799: Doesn't support Android's secureTextEntry when keyboardType="email-address" or keyboardType="phone-pad".
Last updated on by Kien Nguyen